


prometheus

by tysunkete (aozu)



Series: log(minus 1) anthology [9]
Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Aliens, M/M, Nonverbal Communication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 04:58:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12904581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aozu/pseuds/tysunkete
Summary: Exobiology (search for and study of extra-terrestrial life) AU.





	prometheus

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written: 18/10/2014.
> 
> Admittedly one of my more beloved AUs.

 

Lavi resists the urge to rub his hands together to generate some sort of heat, because he’s desperately trying to control involuntary shivers that creep down his back. The office is cold, nearly like ice, yet the man who is seated at a white sleek desk doesn’t seem to pay it any heed, beady eyes slowly tracking over the stacks of papers in front of him. Lavi lets out a slow breath as indiscreetly as possible but Bookman who is standing to his right whips him a warning glare. Several more silent seconds pass before the man before them looks up with a sigh and settles back with an arched eyebrow. The man is decked in a white military suit, strapped proper with white belts and white gloves that barely crease even as he laces his fingers together.

“So, this boy will be assigned to it?” the man says, and Lavi tries not to fidget under the other’s gaze.

“Yes, sir,” Bookman nods.

“I—I’m—“ Lavi starts, but is interrupted before the next word gets through.

“No need for introductions, I know exactly who you are and your qualifications,” the man states, unsmiling. “I expect you to follow all protocols and regulations. Is that understood?”

“Er yes,” Lavi coughs hastily when Bookman gives him another glare. “Yes, sir.”

“Dismissed.”

Bookman bows and Lavi does the same, though he hides a frown on his lips. Without another word Bookman turns heel and leaves the office—Lavi gives the man one last glance before he does the same. The redhead sighs heavily when they pass the heavy glass doors, the corridor feeling just a bit warmer than the office. In fact, the entire facility gives him a chill in his bones—he has no idea why the temperature has to be set so low, but it complements the eerily antiseptic feel of the building. White glazed walls, sleek metal handles, glass furnishings.

“I said don’t speak until you’re spoken to, idiot,” Bookman huffs, smacking him behind the head to which he yelps. “Come on, let’s get moving.”

“Isn’t it courtesy to at least introduce myself?” Lavi mutters, quickly hurrying after his mentor’s fast pace.

“Director Leville has read your file and that’s all he needs to know about you.”

“I hate this job,” Lavi mutters, but Bookman pays no heed to the complaint, because both of them know it’s far from the truth.

Besides, it’s not like Lavi can _choose_ not to have this job. He’s been groomed and trained specifically for this purpose, ever since Bookman screened and adopted him. He’s been exposed to these government secrets as long as he’s remembered, interacted with them, studied them, and if he chose to quit now, it’s either a life of restrictions or death. Lavi doesn’t like either choices, and he guesses that he _does_ like what he’s doing, which is:

Alien experimentation.

Oh yeah. It’s 2014 and the world hasn’t found aliens? Bullshit. They’ve been found _years_ ago but all covered up by government conspiracies like the movies, except the idea is so absurd that no one actually believes it.

But they’re real.

However, there’s a catch, there always is. Alien life can take any kind of form. Microscopic organisms, single cells, plant-like formations, rocks that seem to have some sort of sentient life to them. Lavi isn’t talking about sentient aliens with a culture or language or scientific advancement far greater than earth’s like they’re depicted in sci-fi novels. No humanoid-like extra-terrestrial that he always dreamed of when he was younger—no, Bookman had cleanly scrapped that fantasy over the years and showed him what was real but no less fascinating.

Today he gets assigned to a higher clearance level, one that is on par with his mentor. That means that he’s leaving behind his experiments on those vine-like martian organisms he’s been working on for the past two years—he names them ‘Greebles’ and hopes that the next person who’s picking up his work uses it in the official documents—and is moving on to a bigger project. He still doesn’t actually know what he’s supposed to do yet, because the institution is strict on clearance level. Everything is hush hush top secret in this facility, Lavi gets that, but sometimes he just thinks that the number of doors that they have to swipe their access card to get to where they want to is ridiculous.

After ten minutes of navigating through the level, they eventually come upon an elevator at the end, where Bookman flashes his card again. A crisp sound alerts the arrival of the lift, and they board and ascend. Lavi hasn’t been up this route before, but from now on he will. They move up quickly, floors passing by the glass walls in a blur, until it pauses abruptly at one, doors sliding open. Lavi makes move to step out but Bookman catches him by the arm and pulls him back in. Questioningly he turns to look at his mentor, but Bookman is busy keying a sequence into the panel at the side, and the door slides shut again before it ascends once more.

“Seriously?” he asks.

“This is highly classified material,” Bookman clucks his tongue.

“ _Everything_ here is classified,” Lavi retorts. “No one would be here if they can’t keep a secret.”

“Some more so than others,” Bookman replies, clipped.

Warily, Lavi pauses. “You’re not going to show me some…Prometheus shit are you? Like, squid aliens, because I don’t think I can sleep after this. Ever.”

Bookman scoffs, and the lift halts soon enough. Once again they’re down another corridor that looks the same everywhere in the building. At the end they’re faced with yet another door that requires access identification—this time, with a thumb print. The door unlocks and Lavi braces himself for what he might see; instead, he’s faced with a surprised but pleasant smile of a beautiful Asian girl.

“Dr Bookman,” she greets, smile widening. “Good afternoon.”

Bookman nods and graces his own lips with a smile, which Lavi rarely sees. “How’s the subject doing today?”

She gives a shake of the head and wry smile. “Same as usual.”

“As expected,” Bookman accedes before gesturing to the redhead that he’s brought along. “This is Lavi. He’s assigned to the subject from now on.”

She peers at him thoughtfully before it relaxes into a friendly grin. “Hi. I’m Lenalee.”

“Hey,” Lavi begins, intending to hold a palm to shake, but Bookman cuts him off right there.

“She’s Dr Lee to you,” his mentor states and Lenalee giggles.

“There’s no need for that,” she waves. “Anyway, do go in. I believe Lavi would love to see him.”

At this, Lavi catches sight of the glass panel behind them. There is a faint blue glow that comes from the room behind that. There is a bed, a closet, a desk, a chair—a bedroom, almost, but there seemed to be no participant. Apparently this doesn’t faze Bookman in the least, who steps up to the door that divide the panel and raps it a few times.

A metal plaque that sits on the door is inscribed with just a few letters:

**K.A.N.D.A**

Bookman presses a button at the side and the door slides open. Lavi shivers from a small blast of cold air but steps inside gingerly when he mentor does so, looking around. He doesn’t see anything besides the empty room, but then he notices that his mentor is looking up towards the wall behind them and he follows the line of sight with his one good eye.

He nearly shrieks, but experience in this field quietens that down to a bitten whimper and a massive heart attack.

A figure sits on top of the rack of pull up bars that aree fixed to the door frame, looking down at them impassively. It looks human, but at the same time, it does not. A humanoid body—face, eyes, nose and mouth all in the right proportions—but so perfectly aligned that it seems unreal. Its skin is so light that it is nearly translucent, almost giving off the same blue glow that the room is lit up with. Impossibly long black hair tied at the nape. There's something indescribable about its eyes as well; inky black pools that seem to bleed out of its irises.

“Subject 52632,” Bookman begins to speak, ignoring his shock. “The first ever humanoid extra-terrestrial to be found. Still the only one that we know of. It was brought to us about a year ago. Dr Lee primarily oversees its well-being. I was assigned to study it and now you will be taking over that responsibility.”

Lavi tries to swallow, but finds his mouth dry. “Who found…him?”

“We don’t know.”

At this, Lavi rips his gaze to turn to his mentor. “Then how did he get here?”

Bookman eyes him briefly. “I said he was brought.”

“By who?”

Before Bookman can answer, it—he—the alien abruptly lands on his feet in front of them, startling Lavi who takes several steps back. Now that they’re on ground level with each other, Lavi sees that it—he is almost the same height that he is. There are small patterned blue vines like mapwork near the edge of the other’s eyes, almost like veins, and he can see this because the other’s skin is even more translucent than he thought.

It's strangely like smooth crystal.

_He’s so beautiful,_ Lavi thinks breathlessly, lone eye tracking down the other’s form. _Wow. I mean…how…_

And then suddenly he realises that the alien is staring flat at him and he takes another nervous step back.

“Its not dangerous,” Bookman states, watching them calmly.

“H-how do you know?”

“If it wanted to harm anyone, it would have in the past year.”

“Well,” Lavi coughs, straightening up. “How…I thought…you said aliens like…—like _this_ didn’t exist!”

“Your clearance level wasn’t high enough,” Bookman replies simply.

Lavi sighs and gives another furtive glance to the alien that was still staring at him silently. “Can he understand us?”

“Who knows,” Bookman shrugs.

“You don’t know?” Lavi asks incredulously.

“It hasn’t spoken a word, but it does seem to possess some sort of conscious cognition.”

“Maybe he has some sort of telepathy,” Lavi grins slightly, cautiously wiggling his fingers into a small wave, but the alien just flickers its gaze away and turns to look at the pull up bars again.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Bookman shakes his head with an eye roll. “Let’s go. We’ve spent long enough in here. You will need to look through all of its files by today.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lavi mumbles.

_Telepathy would be so fucking cool_ , he thinks wistfully as he leaves the room, and meets the other’s gaze from across the door frame.

_Can you hear me?_ He tries, just for fun. _I know you can. Come on. Talk to me._

No impression of understanding forms in those black eyes, and Lavi sighs thoughtfully as Bookman presses the button to slide the door shut.

**_—Yes. What do you want?_ **

**Author's Note:**

>  **Bonus:**
> 
> “Krystal Alluring Non Dangerous Alien,” Lavi reads with a raised eyebrow. “KANDA. Wow, someone really wanted to fit something into an acronym, huh,” he snorts, flicking lazily at the slip of paper in his hands.


End file.
